Some very different kinds of ironwork

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One of the reasons that I love living in Spain,  and visiting Spanish cities, is all the amazing ironwork on the balconies. All of our houses have some kind of protective grilles on the windows, and these and the gates are often quite ornate.

This is often a feature of the country houses I visit as well, with grand staircases and balconies, and I love all of the amazing artistry that can be created out of metal.  Having seen blacksmiths at many medieval events I am always in awe of their work.

One of my days on the way to Scotland, via  a visit to a friend in Wales, involved driving through Shropshire,  a county I need to spend more time in as it is so beautiful.  I drove from Ellen’s across to Attingham Park firstly, another Trust house that has been on my wishlist for a long time.

It is no coincidence that this area is famous for its metalwork, with the heritage centred around Ironbridge and its famous crossing by Thomas Telford, such a wealth of industrial heritage.

The owners of Attingham must have been well aware of the developments in industry only a few miles away. Though their house reflects the arts more than industry, the house, built in 1785, epitomises the era so well.

Thomas Telford, a Scot born in 1757, would have been at the peak of his career as an engineer.  It was in Shropshire that he made his name as an engineer, working on canals there.

It was a beautiful day for a visit, I was very lucky to have a sunny February day, and all the snowdrops were in bloom.

The interior of the house was beautiful,  with some stunning decoration. This blue and gold room was one of my favourites.

I loved the art gallery space though, built for entertaining with an impressive ironwork staircase to the upper floor, showcasing a wonderful window.

The servants’ quarters were also interesting, I really liked the interpretation via the dining table, showing wages and duties.

They also had the very best organisation of the linen cupboard. Look at these beautiful pieces all carefully folded, with ribboned lavender. 

I loved the recreations of the ornate desserts as well. The house had a dedicated chef just to make these.

My second stop was somewhere that I have had pinned on my map for a while. It is an open air gallery, based at the British Ironwork Centre, near Oswestry. 

They have the most incredible pieces, mostly made from recycled materials, showcasing ironwork as you have never seen it before.

The scale of some of the pieces is incredible, and the work that goes into them just amazing.  This gorilla is made from teaspoons.

I had seen the Knife Angel some years ago, when it was on display in Worcester.  Made from knives donated during a weapons amnesty, it has been toured to raise awareness of knife crime in the UK.

Most of the pieces have a message, there is a strong theme of environmental responsibility throughout the artworks, which makes it a fantastic place to visit.

Life here on the campsite continues to be very busy, we have been full for weeks, although it has been a little quieter this week. I have also had two visitors, so feeling very blessed that people will come all this way to see me, and the wonders of Scotland of course!

The weather has been very variable, from 24 degrees for my first visitor,  to 12 and raining for my second. We have still been out enjoying ourselves though, just needed our big coats!

I am also meeting some other friends this afternoon who are in the area, then will be making the most of the rest of my day off doing some weeding in my garden, if the rain holds off!

Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing, take care and

Welcome to Glencoe!

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I thought I would start off my series of posts about life here with a little overview of the site, and tell you a bit more about my routine this year.

‘Welcome to Glencoe’, is what we always say to people as they pull up to the entrance to our campsite. 

If you have been following this blog for a while you’ll know that last year I worked at the Speyside campsite, so I had to concentrate really hard to get my greeting right for the first week or so!

Usually people are very excited when they get here, as the drive in either direction is through some of the most stunning scenery in the UK.

I will show you more of that in future posts but you might either come past the gorgeous Loch Leven, or past Buachallie Etive Mór, a very distinctive mountain on the A82.

The site is next to the National Trust Visitor Centre, a busy hub for the area, with lots of great information about the history and the geology here. They have a fascinating exhibition on the history of mountain rescue, and a recreation of a 17th century turf house, with amazing views.

This is also the start of the newly opened Glencoe Greenway, a 13km bike and walking trail that goes around the two valleys here.

If you are lucky you’ll get to see the Visitor Centre Highland cows, or coos, as they are called here in Scotland. 

As I have mentioned before the site itself is very different to Speyside, being a much more natural environment.  We do have lots of lovely planters at the entrance, and have all spent time making our staff pitches look pretty, but the rest of the site is very much a natural environment. 

In the middle of the site is, ‘The Mound’, which has amazing views, we have a couple of picnic benches up there and keep the paths mowed, but everything else natural. 

Our camping fields are the same, large stretches of grass, with amazing views while you are mowing!

The site is one big loop around this Mound, with a couple of small dead ends into the road nearest the facilities block, and one into an area with a great view of one of my favourite hills. When it rains this one has some great waterfalls running down it.

It is also the view from my caravan door! I love sitting in my new awning on a sunny evening watching the clouds.

I have been busy getting things to make my little caravan feel like home, particularly for the outdoor space.

My pitch at Speyside was a lot more of a natural environment, so I didn’t need as much, but here I have now got an awning,  a storage unit donated by my manager’s wife, and lots of lovely pots and planters, as well as many solar lights! The tins are my ones from Katy.

We have had a great start to the season, the weather has generally been good, with a very hot week where I got to wear my lovely uniform sunhat!

It has been so busy, we have been fully booked for weeks, with an average of 35 arrivals a day, so most of the afternoons are spent here, greeting campers.

Mornings vary, I have two early starts, on duty from 8am, doing site checks and office admin, checking arrivals and manning Reception. 

My two later starts I go straight to cleaning duties, this year that is very different as well as I clean as part of the team. Everything is in the one facilities block, at the end of the site.

This means I only clean the toilets once a week,  the other three days I am on showers and basins, or what we call, ‘outers’, which is dishwashing, laundry and the chemical toilet disposal.

I am enjoying the fact that the toilet block is newer and has smooth shower walls, rather than all that grouting I cleaned last year!

We have also had a couple of social events since we started, including two bbqs! They are such lovely people to live and work with, and I am really enjoying the experience. 

I get two days off a week, so have been doing some exploring. There is such to see and do here, both near and further afield, I am really excited to spend the summer here, still can’t believe that this is my life.

Hope you are having a great time whatever you are doing. Have fun and thanks for visiting. 

Fashion Icons

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Although I wouldn’t consider myself a follower of current fashion trends, mainly due to living most of my life in camping trousers and fleeces 😉 I am interested in historically inspired trends, and of course in historic fashion itself.

I have enjoyed researching medieval fashions as as re-enactor, and Victorian ones for Steampunk costumes. I really enjoy interpreting things for my own dressmaking, and so the second exhibition we saw in London was brilliant due to its combination of the old and the new.

Entitled, ‘Marie Antoinette Style’, the exhibition covered historical fashion, but also how the queen’s clothing had been remade, for various films, but also used as inspiration for costume balls, and current fashions. All of this was cleverly interwoven with the story of her life, and a look at how the garments and accessories were made. 

It was a really well curated exhibition, and I’m glad we bought tickets early, as it was sold out very soon after it opened.

The initial section was full of the most gorgeous examples of historic fashion, including this stunning wedding dress. None of the queen’s original garments survive, so this section was from various different museums.

What was equally fascinating was the section on jewellery, fans and shoes, including some of the original designs.

I loved the Manalo shoes based on her style. Even though I mainly live in flip flops and safety boots these days I do like a pretty shoe!

The second half of the exhibition looked at some of the recreations of her clothing,  dating from the 19th century, and how the fashions had been interpreted by various modern designers for catwalk shows.

This was also supported by scenes from films about her life showing the movie costumes in action. The green dress in the centre of the room was just stunning, so a marvel of fabric engineering.

A really interesting exhibition, and so well put together.

We then had for a quick wander around the medieval art section before it was time to leave to head back to Ellen’s.

I am hoping to spend a bit more time in London next year, there are so many more museums I want to revisit, so may do that early March when I return from Spain.

Life here on site continues to be very busy, we have had some stunning weather and some dreadful stuff, often all in the same day as is normal for Scotland. I will share some of the loveliness with you in the next post, before continuing to document life before I got here.

Meanwhile take care, have fun and thanks for visiting.

London life

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I am taking advantage of the fact that we actually have four bars of signal today to bring you an update on my trip to London with my lovely daughter, Ellen, at the end of February. 

Things seem to be improving on the connectivity front, it is one of the few disadvantages of living here that 21st century conveniences can’t be taken for granted.

Ellen and I planned our trip last year as we saw that there were two historic fashion exhibitions on at the same time. We had a wonderful weekend enjoying city life, with a hotel in the beautiful Bayswater Road area, delicious meals out, and lots of wonderful clothes. 

On Friday we had chance to do a quick visit to the wonderful British Library before going to our hotel. It is such a beautiful building, and as we both love books so much, a really inspiring place.

We had a visit to the Treasures Collection, full.of significant texts, from annotated writings to illustrated religious texts.

So many gorgeous things in the bookshop. I really want these map books, when I have space on my bookshelves.

Saturday morning was a quick trip to Borough Market, where we bought gluten free treats, and I stocked up on spices for the caravan from this amazing stall.

Then it was a walk past the Shard to the Fashion and Textile Museum, for an exhibition about the company Cosprop. They have been supplying film and TV productions since the 1970s, using a combination of vintage clothing and reconstructed garments.

It would take too long to list all of the films and TV shows they had costumes for but think Victoria, lots of Jane Austen, and virtually every single other big historical movie filmed in the last 50 years.

So many amazing things, and to see them close up was such a treat. 

It is difficult to say which was my favourite, however I do adore Georgian waistcoats, the embroidery is so stunning. These were such amazingly detailed reproductions, taking inspiration from original panels.

A quick visit to Covent Garden for refreshments, seeing a Bansky and an art installation featuring a jellyfish on the way, and we ended the day at Liberty for cocktails.

They had a new range inspired by Bridgerton, and although I am never going to pay that much for a pillowcase, it was lovely to see the fabrics, and Lady Bridgerton’s mask from the ball.

Fingers crossed the internet will remain good so I can be back soon with part two of London life, the one where we visit the V and A.

I am so happy that I can do all these brilliant trips  and that my life is full of such diverse adventures. 

Hopefully see you soon, take care, have fun and thanks for visiting.

The joys of rural life

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Just a quick post to say that blogging is not happening at the moment due to an almost complete lack of Internet here.

We had some problems a couple of weeks ago, with the local mast and O2, so I went and restarted my other Sim card which works on a different provider.

However the last few days have been really poor as well, I can barely get my emails, so no chance of sharing anything lovely with you. I am still loving life here, and am getting lots of reading done!

Hopefully may be able to post soon!

Coorieing in on the campsite

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The Scots have a phrase, ‘ to coorie in,’ which means to nestle, or snuggle in, which is what I am doing today.

I am having my first days off, now we are all on our normal rotas. Yesterday I did lots of cooking, and today I am cozied up under one of my new fleece blankets, with my heater on and a cup of tea in my Highland Cow mug. It is going to be a crochet day I think.

I am very glad that I did buy the lovely fleecy duvet set that was on sale in Asda at Inverness. I was in two minds as I already had a van full of stuff, but it has been so cosy!

As it is the end of the first week of normal work here in Glencoe, I thought I would give you an update on that, and go back to my London adventures next time.

I was originally planning to be here on the 12th March, however the towing date had to be changed, so Lotte and I set off from her winter home at Lossiemouth on the 17th. She had been parked next to a boat. She was a little green, but otherwise in good condition externally.

It was a beautiful day, starting with a gorgeous sunrise at the park up at Lossiemouth beach.

I was so happy to be back on the road with her, and thankfully there was no internal damp, and all my stored stuff was fine. After checking everything the day before we set off bright and early in the sunshine.

Although it was wet when I arrived here, the next few days were also brilliant sunshine, and we got so much groundwork done.

The site has been closed for winter, and there were lots of sticks to pick up, one of my constant jobs last summer, pitch markers to put back, and toilets to clean!

The weather has been really varied, after the sunny first three days we have had hail, strong winds, rain and blue skies, usually all within the same hour! I have loved taking pictures of how the mountains change, when you can see them of course 😉

The photo above is the view from my caravan door.

One of the main differences about this year’s role is that I am part of a team of 5, rather than 3 as last year. We have already had a couple of team socials, and they are an excellent bunch of people. 

My manager is a new manager this year, as at Speyside last year, but he was a site assistant last year here, so knows the site well. My other 3 colleagues are new to the role this year.

We will be much busier than Speyside ever was, opening last week we had the same number of arrivals as our busiest summer days there and we are full this coming Easter weekend. 

We also get a lot more just one night stays, from people touring Scotland, and a lot of hire vans.

After our hard work getting the site in order, we then went to Perth, back to the Scone Campsite for a day’s training on our new IT system for bookings.

We will be using tablets this year, which we take out with us to book people into pitches. That will take a bit of getting used to, but we have all now completed the on site training and have used them with customers.

On the way back from training I stopped to get a quick shot of the Mirror Man at Loch Earn.

We are also getting used to where things are here, it is a much larger site, with 60 hardstanding pitches, and a large tent field, which is rather soggy at the moment! We have had a few intrepid backpackers pitched there already.

The site also looks very different,  rather than lots of well cut grass, it is mainly hardstanding pitches around what is known as, ‘The Mound’, a raised area with paths mown through it, with the most amazing views.

Of course the main draw here are the amazing mountains. You can see from this photo of the map all the red contour lines around us.  We also have the gorgeous Loch Leven just down the road.

I am so looking forward to exploring more over the next few months.  This is an area that I have been to a couple of times before,  but have only ever visited briefly. I have so many smaller walks planned, along with just staring in awe at the mountains.

Just over 18 years ago, when I first started this blog, I wrote my, ‘About me’, page and I include the lines, ‘I love camping, and am happiest in a field, preferably with a view of the mountains, ‘. Therefore I can safely say that I think I am going to be very happy here!

It is a very dreich day, as the Scots say, this is my current view from the van, and sadly all those people coming for the weekend have a bit of a mixed forecast to look forward to. However, I have tested my waterproof trousers already, and am good to go!

Hopefully I will be back soon, so see you then.  Thanks for visiting and have fun!

Moral dilemmas

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The world of heritage and history is full of dilemmas. What should be displayed, how should stories be told, and how do we deal with the past that doesn’t fit current sensibilities?

I have been to many museums that have tried to address these things, the Pitt-Rivers in Oxford being a particularly good example. Often they will adopt the approach of explaining why these things were popular or acceptable at the time.

Whilst we were in Salamanca we came across a small museum that presented us with small dilemma.  The museum was dedicated to bull fighting. Always a contentious subject, but a very large part of Spanish culture. Should we go?

In the end we did, I knew that it would be full of the most amazing embroidery, and I am not of the opinion that things should be ignored because they are difficult. I would never go and watch a bull fight, but was interested to know more.

The displays of matador costumes were stunning. Spain does embroidery and gold work for costumes, such as the Moors and Christians, and the Semana Santa festivals, to such a high standard. 

It is particularly impressive as these costumes would be seen from a distance, rather than close up. The level of detail is amazing.

It was also notable that most of them were really small. There were costumes dating back to the 1940s, and they reminded me a lot of the stature of horse racing jockeys.

It was a very unique experience.  As with visiting historic houses and their stags,  the mounted bull heads were sad to see,  but the overall interpretation was very good.

It did address some of the contention around bull fights, and was very interesting in terms of learning more about the history, and the particular role of bull fighting in Salamanca. 

We also visited a nearby palace owned by the Dukes of Alba. As palaces go it was very much a liveable family home, the sort of place you could imagine, or dream about being in. It had beautiful views over the city from the living quarters as well, and a lovely bell tower.

There was also the most gorgeous tiled bathroom, complete with fully tiled toilet!

Salamanca is definitely one of my favourite cities. It has such a quiet charm, with so much to see. I know there are many other stunning Spanish cities to visit, but this one comes highly recommended.

Mum and I will hopefully be doing another city break in December, all will be revealed nearer the time, as this is somewhere we have tried to go before, and failed!

I am now safely installed at my new site for the 2026 season at Glencoe. Have had a fantastic few days working with my new team, and am really looking forward to the campsite opening next week.

I have lots to share about my Scottish adventures so far, but this is a little taste of where I will be spending the summer.

Here is Lotte the caravan in her new home, and this is the view from the campsite. It has been beautiful weather so we having been having lunch on this bench.

You can understand why I am so happy, given that mountains are my favourite things!

Thanks for visiting, and see you soon.

Symmetry and shadows

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I love cloisters, to me they are one of the most impressive forms of architecture.  The pillars, the ceiling decorations, amazing stonework that looks effortless, but must have been so difficult to achieve.

I love the way the light hits the stone, the different perspectives you get as you walk around, and the contrast between sun and shadow.

We visited two beautiful cloisters on our second day in Salamanca. The first was in the convent attached to the church of San Estaban, itself an absolutely stunning building. 

The second was the Convent of the Duenas, virtually next door. Not only were the buildings themselves so incredible, the views they gave across to the nearby cathedral were also wonderful.

I spent a lot of time just framing shots, there are definitely some here that I will want to print off and frame in future.

The cathedral dominates the skyline of Salamanca, and it is the most incredible example of the stonemasons’ art. There are actually two cathedrals built next to each other, an older medieval one, and the later gothic building.

There is something else in the stone work that you have to search for here, an astronaut carved as part of the renovations in the late 1980s. We eventually found it on the fourth door we looked at! I love this little creature on the left as well.

Although the newer cathedral was beautiful, it was the older one that had the best piece of religious architecture.  Probably the most wonderful altar I have ever seen.

I couldn’t get any closer to take more detailed photos but this is an amazing piece of art.

We finished our trip with a visit to the Art Noveau house, once a private dwelling and now an art museum.  No interior photos of the exhibitions allowed, but here is the exterior and the beautiful restaurant. I do keep coming back to this period, as I do so love it.

Medieval will always be one of my favourites for its richness, but there is something so lovely about the lines and form in this period.

I have one more post about Salamanca to share with you, then I can show you some of the wonderful things I have seen since I got back to the UK. It was such an interesting city to visit, full of just so many beautiful places, and of course wonderful doors!

Until then, thanks as always for visiting.

The stonemasons of Salamanca

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I have written before about the wonderful work of stonemasons, but every time I visit a city where there are medieval marvels, such as in Salamanca, I am amazed once more.

The sheer volume of stone work in this beautiful city is unbelievable, from the cathedral to the many monasteries and churches. Add to that the beauty of just the, ‘ordinary’, buildings, and you have an incredible city.

It is not one that many people visit though. It has been on my Mum’s wishlist for a long time, and I was aware of it through its educational history, but it is not a tourist hot spot like many of the southern Spanish cities, such as Cordoba and Granada.

We went in January, by train from Alicante.  Spanish trains are wonderful, so clean, comfortable and reliable, and very cheap! We stayed at a beautiful hotel, the San Polo, built on the ruins of an old church, and right opposite the cathedral. It was like staying in an archaeological dig.

This top photo on the left below is the view from our room. We didn’t visit the cathedral on the first day though, as the weather forecast was better that day, so we did the city wandering that day.

The city museum is housed in an old palace, surprisingly similar to the ones in cities like Cordoba. I had not expected the same type of architecture as this is usually a design used for very hot climates. Northern Spain is more temperate, but there were similar patios and cloisters everywhere.

I have seen a lot of religious art on my travels, but these were exquisite.

I think my favourites were definitely the gun wielding angels! I have not seen anything like that before, and the painting of the fabric was so detailed.

The university dates from the 13th century and has a wealth of gorgeous buildings, some of which are former palaces, and medieval cloisters.

It is a tradition to go and look for the Salamanca frog, part of one of the carved doorways, and we found it almost straight away. This is supposed to bring you good luck.

We also wanted to see the shell building, another palace which is now the public library.  I have never seen anything like it, so unusual, with such beautiful iron work.

I took so many photos, and we visited so many incredible buildings, that I am going to have to split this trip over a few posts.

My plans have changed slightly, and I am now spending more time at the Scone Campsite near Perth. This means, combined with some lovely Scottish rain, that I am having some additional R and R today, before moving on at the weekend.

This is my current view, with my new tent being tested for its waterproofing, so I am enjoying a day of reading and crochet 😉

Nice weather will hopefully be resumed tomorrow, and the forecast for the weekend is better, meaning I can hopefully visit some more Trust properties at the weekend.

I hope that you are all enjoying whatever you are doing, and will see you all again soon. Thanks for visiting.

Autumn highlights

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Three posts in one week, this must be a record! Although it may seem a bit strange to be posting about autumn when spring is here, there are a few more places that I wanted to write about from my travels in October. Then I can continue with more recent adventures.

I love autumn, as I have said before here, it always signifies new beginnings to me, being a teacher for so many years. Even now autumn is the beginning of a different life in Spain every year, so still feels like a start.

I love the autumn colours as well, and the quality of the light. I visited a beautiful house just outside of Bridlington while I was staying at Flamborough. Sewerby Hall is owned by the local council, and is free to visit. The hall wasn’t open when I was there, but they have a little zoo, and beautiful grounds.

It is also the best season to see squirrels and there were so many there! I am really hoping for more squirrels in my life this year. There have been some very cute rabbits at this caravan park which has been nice.

I also visited Beningbrough Hall on my way back down from North Yorkshire. I have been before, but that was a quick stop off during the Covid years, and only the grounds were open then.

The gardens look beautiful, they are very Japanese in style, but it was the wonderful autumn fruit and veg display in the shop are that really made an impression. Such gorgeous colours and textures!

The hall is another mainly empty property, now used for art exhibitions.

When in West Yorkshire I went back to visit my friend Sue, who has recently moved back from Scotland.  I have been to stay with her many times in her beautiful, but remote lodge in Argyll, but she has moved back to where she spent many happy years when her children were young, just over the hills from my old village of Marsden.

Even though it was dull, we had a really good walk around one of the many reservoirs in the area. I love walking around water, probably why I love Scotland so much, there is just something magical about all the reflections. 

As I was leaving Katy Kangoo at my sister’s for the winter, we thought it would be fun to have one last camping trip, to Wales. We booked the very last few days that the site was open, at the Wyeside Camping and Caravanning Club site at Rhyader in mid Wales.

The drive there was stunning, through Herefordshire, and we were really lucky with the weather. We did get a bit wet on the first day, but had a glorious couple of walks, with Ryan the dog of course, and lots of fun just playing games and catching up.

The site is right next to the River Wye, as the name suggests, and so while I pitched my tent on the grass next to my sister’s motorhome, Katy had her own pitch just across from there, so she didn’t sink in the mud!

It was interesting watching the staff close down the site, thinking about what my lovely colleagues would be doing in Scotland. This year I will be doing both opening and closing down, so am really excited for the start of the season and meeting my new team in a couple of weeks. 

I am going to be moving on from the static caravan tomorrow, I have a mix of camping and aires, and some historic visit activities planned.  The rest will be weather dependent, so I may be able to get a lot more crocheting done!

I have brought a large amount of wool with me, and am getting on really well with the granny square blanket.  I have also made myself a warm crochet hat, and matching knitted wrist warmers in uniform colours for work.

I do have WiFi at my next campsite as well, so fingers crossed will be able to keep the posting going. I have so many gorgeous things to show you from our recent city break in northern Spain. 

Until then have fun, and thanks for visiting.